Rapid Fire Sept. 23, 2013: Is a Defense-Centric CR the Way Out for DoD Budget?

Sep 23, 2013 11:20 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff

US Senator Ted Cruz [R-TX] told Fox News that department-specific continuing resolutions, starting with defense, should be considered by Congress to avoid a complete government shutdown, if it comes to that. Sen. Tom Coburn [R-OK] thinks the effort to defund Obamacare can’t be a successful tactic beyond raising awareness about the healthcare law’s shortcomings. Still, expect several days of procedural nonsense of the kind only the US Congress can conjure.

In the meantime, brace for the possibility of a shutdown.

US Defense Acquisition Undersecretary Frank Kendall lists the limitations of Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) as a risk assessment tool in the latest Defense AT&L [PDF].

What is working capital? Here’s a quick financial primer for procurement professionals and why they should care about their impact on their suppliers’ cash flow.

The US Air Force Space Command published a white paper [PDF] advocating the ‘disaggregation’ of space capabilities “onto multiple platforms or systems [to improve] mission survivability by increasing the number and diversity of potential targets, thereby complicating an adversary’s decision calculus.”

The NSA sent a letter to employees’ families, defending its record. This isn’t unusual in crisis situations, but the time lag between the Snowden revelations and the letter suggests that they’re reacting to an issue within the workforce. Foreign allies aren’t the only stakeholders affected by the NSA’s new “civilian surveillance agency” brand.

British senior military commanders are pushing a plan to keep up to 200 British troops in Helmand after 2014, according to the Telegraph.

The state of the Middle East, seen by the London-based Economist: The weakened West, and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute: Whither the West.

Australia’s newly appointed Defence Minister David Johnston reckons that Australia needs “cutting-edge, cost-effective ships [and] to retain your ship-building capacity” in order to help secure sea lanes and keep them open for exports.

The New Delhi-based Business Standard argues – not necessarily convincingly – that forced scientific isolation was a crucial factor to explain why India’s missile program stands out as a success among many failed acquisitions.

Challenges to India’s indigenous naval buildup:

“The Indian Navy, much like the other two services, has found it difficult to translate its conceptual commitment to self-reliance and indigenization into actionable policy, resulting in a perpetuation of reliance on external sources for naval modernization. Yet India’s reliance on its navy to project power is only likely to increase in the coming years as naval buildup continues apace in the Indo-Pacific.”

The video below shows recent fights off China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier. Notice the deck crew’s eerily familiar color-coded jerseys:

Categories: Asia - Central, Australia & S. Pacific, Britain/U.K., China, Daily Rapid Fire, India, Issues - International, IT - Cyber-Security, Middle East - Other, Outer Space, Policy - Doctrine, USA

Rapid Fire Sept. 23, 2013: Is a Defense-Centric CR the Way Out for DoD Budget?

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